Characters and dialogue
Learning paths through this topic
Make a town guard's passing remark fresh for everyone standing near
Four players walk past the same guard, who shouts one remark that two of them heard a minute ago, and then the same remark again to the next group. Here is how to choose the line everyone around will hear, with a rest period for the speaker.
Let a shared scene move on without waiting for a player who walked away
A scene waits until everyone presses continue, and one person has gone to make tea. Here is the rule for when the group may go on, why a scene must never run on with nobody there, and what the waiting player sees.
Let a group skip a story scene without cheating the one who never saw it
The veterans want to skip the long scene, the newcomer has not seen it and would lose the plot. Here is a vote rule that respects both, who gets a veto, and what the person who skipped without seeing it receives instead.
Stop a new player from inheriting the friendships of whoever left
Player three leaves, a stranger takes the free seat, and the innkeeper greets the stranger like an old friend. Here is the small stamp that tells a seat apart from the person in it, and what happens when the old player comes back.
Keep a shared scene from spoiling the story for the player who is behind
One friend has finished the story and another has just started, and the old innkeeper happily names the villain out loud. Here is a rule for which version of a line everyone gets, and what to do when a newcomer arrives in the middle of it.
Give each player's character a fair share of the story's attention
Some players find the story keeps turning to the loudest teammate, or to the newcomer who has just arrived. Here is a way to track who has been in focus and decide whose turn it is next, counting only the time each player was really there.
Decide who holds the story's key item when the carrier drops out
The one player carrying the only key to the next chapter loses connection, falls in battle, or quits the party. The rest should neither be stuck nor see the key vanish into thin air. Here is the order of who gets it, after how long, and what if nobody can.
Keep a round of speaking turns fair when someone loses connection
In a scene where each character answers in turn, a dropped player either freezes the round or comes back and speaks twice in a row. Here is a turn rule that skips the absent, keeps everyone's place and says what happens to the one who returns.
Give two players with the same name different names in the story
Two friends both type the same name and the story starts addressing the wrong person, or a line says the name twice. Here is how to keep names apart without renaming anyone who was already there, and the trap that appears when someone leaves.
Refuse a dialogue answer the player was never offered
A modified or lagging game client can send an answer that was hidden, belongs to someone else, was already used or comes from a scene that is over, and the story jumps to a place it should not. Here is the list of things to check, and the order that does not leak secrets.
Tell a returning player what the townsfolk did while they were away
In a world that keeps going, the baker has had a week of news, and two friends coming back on different days must hear the same history. Here is how to make the past the same for everyone, without storing a thing, and how many events to tell.
Hide a whispered line from the players it was not meant for
One player's character confides a secret to another, and the shared log shows it to the whole table. Here is how to send each person only their own version of the history, without breaking the order of the log or quoting what they must not see.